Village Witch

Regenerative Herbalism | Tarot Tales | Spiritual Ecology
Myth | Magic | Musings
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Greetings Plant Lovers, Mystical Creatures and Friends,

This summer is moving by so quickly, and the weather here is Italy is shifting. Autumn is soon upon us, as the world keeps spinning on her axis. Sometimes I wish I could pause time all together, take a snap shot of the moment and freeze it in time. I suppose that is what a memory is, isn’t it? But memories become clouded with age and the mutability of feeling after all. Can they really be relied upon? Or do they just become the truth of the moment?

It is a ponderous time for me, trying to understand my place in the world, getting by and thriving at the same time. It’s that edge time of the season which sometimes has us feeling confused, lost or clouded. But in a few weeks when Leo shifts to Virgo, we will start to feel that grounded motivation of the necessary change, the one that sits deep in our bones, preparing us for the unknown dark that inevitably lies ahead.

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astro musings:
Full Moon in Aquarius
​the stories women tell​
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This lunar musing I reflect on the stories of women. I have been reading back to back the mythic, fictional, historical and current accounts of women’s lives. I do this because I yearn to understand. In every moment of every day, I imagine what it is like to be another. When I am walking down the street, or driving in my car, I see through the eyes of the driver next to me. I see through the eyes of the soaring bird on invisible thermals, and I feel the life of the animal on my plate. I believe that nurturing empathy is the greatest tool we can hone for the survival of our species. It is the remedy to the widespread pandemic of apathy.

This musing is pretty sensitive and raw… but in the spirit of the Full Moon in Aquarius, and the energy of The Star XVII, I am sharing with you, my near and distant community some of my own story, may it serve as a guiding star for however of you out there it touches.

“The story of the girl boss is not matriarchal, nor is it matrifocal; it is simply chicks playing dicks, following the same old rules. I learned this the hard way, through years of leadership, burnout, and the constant feeling that I had to defend my place. But it was on the last full moon of 2012, far from production meetings and microphones, that I came face to face with the deepest truth of my own power.

I sat with Ayahuasca for the first and only time. It was a medicine that never fully called to me, perhaps because I was terrified of what it would unleash. My experience was terrifying. I left the circle and lay on the earth, writhing in pain all night. My visions began with worms consuming my body, returning me to the soil in a state of decay. I relived torture: being stretched on the rack as a witch in France, limbs pulled from their sockets, my throat crushed. I felt the pain of all women, in every cell of my body, silenced and terrified.”

That night shattered something in me, but in the breaking I found the first glimmer of the woman I would become.

Read the whole musing

Questions for You, from the musing… I would love to hear from you! not just those who identify as women, but any and all…..

• Tell your story, the insights, heartbreaks, and journeys you have been on.
• When were you the victim of misogyny, and when were you a perpetrator?
• Do you have a witch wound? Where and how does it manifest in your psyche and body?
• What does toxic femininity mean to you?
• How do you support women?
• What women’s stories have touched you most deeply, and why?

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TArot Readings

A rich and transformative experience that bridges the symbolic and the practical. Drawing from her deep studies in archetypal psychology, astrology, world mythology, art history, deep ecology, and elemental magic, Sarah channels the Tarot to help clients gain clarity on their life path, relationships, and energetic patterns. Book a Reading

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Learn More

A Wellness Consultation with Sarah is an in-depth exploration of your health profile, where together we explore the various roots of your concerns, deciphering patterns and imbalances. Sarah will craft for you a custom protocol focusing on your diet, herbs, mushrooms, and supplements, as well as suggestions for movement, adjunct therapies, rituals, journaling exercises and other practices to support your overall vitality.

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Herbal Education OnLine

AUGUST 5 - 11: HERBALISM BUNDLES SPECIAL OFFER from Herbal Academy

I am a guest facilitator in a few of the Herbal Academy lessons as well as a regular contributor to The Herbarium​

With over $270 in savings, get the transformative Introductory Herbal Course with accompanying 3-volume Textbook Set plus 3 special bonuses to gain hands-on experience working with herbs, including Herb-Drug Interaction Chart, 72-piece Apothecary Label Set, and the Masterclass on Finding Safe Herbal Info. Sign Up Now

With $500 in savings, get the robust Intermediate Herbal Course with accompanying 5-volume Textbook Set plus 3 special bonuses to gain hands-on experience working with herbs, including Herb-Drug Interaction Chart, 72-piece Apothecary Label Set, and the Masterclass on Finding Safe Herbal Info. . Sign Up Now

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the year ahead in herbalism 2026

Sacred Pharmakon
Regenerative Earth Traditions
🌿🇬🇷Crete, Greece, June 2026🇬🇷🌿

We are working through the details of an upcoming training in Greece for next June. Inspired by the elements and ancient Greek vitalist practices, we venture to the ancient lands to explore not only the plants and healing traditions but also to prepare herbalists for a future in both clinical and community practice. This is not a retreat, but a 125-hour immersion that will help you gain practical skills as an herbalist, while also connecting to the power of the elements in their foundational teachings for understanding the body systems, formulations, and relational dynamics.

Working as an herbalist is one of the more important career paths you can venture down. We are always needed, always ready and irreplaceable!

Teachings include:​
• Anatomy and physiology
• Corresponding materia medica
• Herbal energetics and regenerative philosophy
• Herbal traditions of ancient lands
• Field trips to local herbalists and alchemists
• Plant walks with local herbalists
• Abundant hands-on medicine making
• The wild apothecary and plant spirit medicine
• Astro-herbalism
• Clinical herbalism practicals
• Community herbalism development
• And most importantly, how to practice ethically and effectively as a community and clinical herbalist

We’ll also be collaborating with local herbalists for plant identification and to honor the teachings and perspectives of those native to the land.

We just booked the location at the beautiful Terra Preveli on the southern central coast of the island of Crete!

We’re finalizing the details and will release full information by September 1.

🌿 If you’d like to be among the first to know and receive an extra discount off the tuition, please drop your email below!

Sacred Pharmakon Waitlist

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Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path:
💚🇬🇹Guatemala, November 2026🇬🇹💚

Heading back to a land so close to my heart, this session we will head to the Caribbean Coast, to experience the teachings of the marine ecosystems and the insights of the original peoples.

This intensive training is for those who want to jump start their herbalism practice, by learning clinical skills, medicine making techniques, apothecary development, and the foundations of regenerative philosophy. A holistic course that teaches the body systems as extensions of the ecosystem, rooted in soil, the forests and life waters of planet earth.

🌿 If you’d like to be among the first to know and receive an extra discount off the tuition, please drop your email below!

Permaculture for the Herbalists Path Waitlist

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Who wants to get witchy with us in Portugal?

This is the final stretch to sign up! Registration will close soon.

Herbalists & Alchemists Portugal, October 5 - 12
For witches, alchemists, herbalists
and all those interested in the magic of herbalism.

In this immersion, we practice the Alchemical proverb:

As Above, So Below.
As Within, So Without.
As the Universe, so the Soul.

To come back to the knowledge rooted deep within that transcends culture, borders and religions that place us above all other creatures. We are in practice with the plants to be in service to all life, to learn skills and nurture relationships. Through magic and science, ritual and community, we work to mend the pains of the world. Learn from medicine people who have dedicated their lives to being bridges between humans and the green world, as they share their knowledge and experience.

This course takes a deeper dive into medicine making beyond tinctures and teas. Learning about flower infusions making Agua Florida, working with alchemical extracts known as spygerics, sitting with the fire, stones and sweat in the Temezcal and making plant pigments for illuminating your medicine journal.

HERBALISTS & ALCHEMISTS INFO

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I am grateful if you have made it this far. I am constantly thinking about the folks out there who this writing may touch. I feel you and I am open to you. It would be so great to hear from you. It isn’t my strongest quality in [fast] responses, but I read all your messages and they mean a lot to me. I would be particularly curious to hear if there are any themes you would like me to muse on.

As always, may the good green world hold you in her abundant arms, may she kiss you with gentle breezes and may her waters wash you clean and run clear.

blessed be

sarah marie

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